Easy Eats: Cauliflower Curry Fritters with Coriander Chutney

A fritter is a sure-fire dinner-winner, says chef Sam Parish. Photo: Sam Parish

Serving breakfast at dinner is a mid-week vibe I hope I’m not alone in partaking in. Sometimes it’s a simpler version with baked beans on toast and a fried egg, but this recipe takes it up a notch. A fritter is always a mid-week winner in my book.

Frozen cauliflower ‘rice’ is such a handy ingredient. You’ll find it next to the frozen corn and peas at the supermarket. There’s no need to thaw it, just use straight from the freezer. If you’ve got fresh cauli on hand, grate it on a box grater to get two cups of cauliflower ‘rice’ and add 2 ice cubes to the water. 

Serves 4 / Prep time: 15 minutes / Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (125ml) vegetable oil
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 4 eggs
• ¼ cup Indian coriander chutney (I get mine from the frozen section in all good Indian grocers—just thaw and use)
• 1 cup thick Greek-style yoghurt
• Date and tamarind chutney, lemon wedges, and your favourite chilli sauce to serve

For the fritters:

• 2 cups frozen cauliflower rice
• ¼ cup cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• ½ cup (125ml) water
• 40g ghee or butter, melted

Method

Prepare the fritter batter: In a large bowl, combine the cauliflower, cottage cheese, eggs, and curry powder. Add the flour and mix to form a thick paste. Add ¼ cup of water, then the melted ghee, and mix to combine. Gradually add the remaining water as needed until the mixture loosens slightly but is still thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.

Cook the fritters: Heat ¼ cup of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil, spacing them 2cm apart. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the edges start to crisp. Sprinkle with salt and a good crack of pepper, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the fritters and place them on a wire rack to maintain their crispness. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil if needed.
​
Cook the peas and eggs: Add the peas to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes to heat through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. In the same pan, fry the eggs to your liking in the residual oil.

Prepare the yoghurt chutney sauce: In a small bowl, mix the Indian coriander chutney with the yoghurt.

Assemble the dish: Spoon the yoghurt onto plates and top with fritters. Add a dollop of more yoghurt, the date and tamarind chutney, peas, and a fried egg. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with your favourite chilli sauce.

Photo: Sam Parish

Sam Parish is a Christchurch-based chef, writer and food stylist. Her food philosophy is ‘maximum of flavour, minimum of fuss’ (MOFMOF), which means she’s all about cooking smarter, not harder. She’ll be sharing delicious, fast, family-friendly food ideas every Wednesday (after road-testing them on her own whānau, of course). Sam’s first book, Cook Me is out now.